US lawmakers will have until March to write and vote on annual spending lists for the rest of the 2024 fiscal year
The US House of Representatives approved this Thursday (January 18, 2024) the bill that extends the deadline for delivering the US federal budget until March. The provisional decree was sent to President Joe Biden for final approval of the law. Read the complete of the text (PDF – 200 kB, in English).
This Thursday (January 18), the same bill was approved by the North American Senate. The result of the vote was 77 votes in favor and 18 against after considering some amendments. In the Chamber, the final score was 314 votes in favor to 108 against.
After approval of the measure, the risk of shutdown from October 1st he was removed. If the proposal is rejected, federal government employees would be placed on leave and instructed not to show up for work.
UNDERSTAND
In 1884, the US government enacted the Anti-Deficiency Act – which prohibits federal agencies from spending more than allowed without Congressional approval.
Therefore, annually, the House has to approve 12 appropriations laws to finance all public spending. If this is not done, sectors that have not had their expenses approved will come to a standstill – the shutdown.
Since 1976, when the US changed the start of the fiscal year to October 1, the government has shut down 21 times. Among these, the most relevant were in 1995, 2013 and 2018.
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